Debating Darwin

Professor John Hedley Brooke, the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology at Oxford, came to Exeter on Monday 26th January to talk on the subject of ‘Darwin and His Influence on Belief’. Speaking at a black-tie dinner organised by The Oxonian Review in honour of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, Professor Brooke covered a variety of themes – among them Darwin’s conflicted relationship with his Christianity amid hostile contemporary reactions to his work – in a talk that conveyed something of the excitement of scientific debate in the 19th century. Exeter’s Hall was filled to capacity, and the discussion that ensued covered wide ground, with participants asking many perceptive questions about Darwin’s legacy and its significance in the modern era.